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QUAKING YELLOWSTONE

Quaking Yellowstone Thermal Features & Earthquakes Earthquake Swarms Hebgen Lake Quake Quake Effects

The size of an earthquake is given by its magnitude. On the Richter Scale, the amplitude of shaking increases by factors of 10. Thus, an earthquake will be 10 times larger during a magnitude 5 event as during one with a magnitude of 4. A small earthquake is one with a magnitude of less than 3.

Yellowstone is one of the most seismically active areas in the United States. More than 2,000 earthquakes occur in this region each year, although most are too small to be felt.

Very large earthquakes are not likely to occur within the Yellowstone Caldera itself because the underlying subsurface temperatures are high and make the bedrock more malleable. However, large earthquakes are likely to occur in neighboring or nearby regions.

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